Thanks for your comments! Yes, Bruce, I thought about this while writing the post. I've loved this cycle of paintings by Piero (Legend of the True Cross" since discovering them at art school. When years later I went to Arezzo to see the actual frescoes, many were covered with tarps as they were being renovated. And, like much church art, they were way the heck up on the upper reaches of the walls. But I think that even when the details aren't as visible as they are in a reproduction, art should be seen in the space it was created to fill. The paintings in their natural site have a whole other dimension from the usual museum or book setting.

Just beautiful. I love the images from the murals, and the allegorical feeling of the painting.How right you are about seeing art in the 'real'. If you think it looks great in a book, you'll be blown away when you see the real thing!

That's true, Mary. In Italy it takes detective work and meandering travel to find the great art hidden all over the countryside in little churches and civic halls. Always a thrill when the hunt is rewarded with a Madonna that you've only seen before as a 3" x 5" reproduction. The Italians seem to me to have both a casualness about living with this great art, combined with a reverence for their artistic heritage, that's quite wonderful.

WEVE MOVED!

"A Painter's Year" has moved to a new and improved site. Please come with us by clicking here! And you can see new painting galleries, travel sketchbooks and more at my new website home. Subscribe to new posts below. Thank you!

To see new paintings and be informed of special sales, exhibits, events, and workshops, please click "Join my mailing list".

About A Painter's Year

My visual journal is inspired by what I see every day: the weather on my hill in northern Vermont, what’s growing in my garden, a curio brought back from travels or an ordinary object from the kitchen shelf made special by careful looking. "Journal" paintings are fast, improvised daily entries, a chance to experiment with new approaches and pay attention to the here-and-now. When I’m traveling, quickly recorded impressions are posted from Paris, Provence, Spain, Maine and anywhere else I’ll find myself this year. My large studio compositions take time, planning, refining of the original inspiration. I'll also be sharing that different kind of creative process with you here on "A Painter's Year".